DefinitionInfant mortality is the death of a live-born baby during the first year of life. The infant mortality rate is the death rate of live-born babies during the first year of life. The rate is the number of infant deaths per 1,000 live births.

Why do we measure this?Infant mortality and the infant mortality rate reflect the health and well-being of the population’s women of reproductive age and their infants as well as the quality of the health care available. Infant mortality information is used by local governments and organizations to identify areas in need and designate available resources.

Rates based on small numbers of events may be encountered while using this system. These rates are considered unstable if they are based on fewer than 5 events or if the denominator (population at risk) is fewer than 20. An erratic trend line illustrates this instability. Use of this tool is for analytical and statistical purposes only.

FloridaCHARTS.com is provided by the Florida Department of Health, Division of Public
Health Statistics & Performance Management.

Data Source:Florida Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics

Data Note(s):

Deaths occurring within 364 days of birth.

Chart will display if there are at least three years of data.

Multi-year counts are a sum of the selected years, not an average.

Use caution when interpreting rates and ratios based on small numbers of events. Rates and ratios are considered unstable if they are based on fewer than 5 cases or if the denominator (population at risk) is fewer than 20. An erratic trend line illustrates this instability.

Quartiles are calculated when data is available for at least 51 counties.

Data for 1970-78, 1979-98, and 1999-present are not fully comparable due to changes in coding causes of death. Consequently, increases or decreases in 1979 and 1999 may not be due to changes in disease trends but rather coding changes. Starting with 2003 deaths, the sum of the deaths from all counties will not equal the total number of resident deaths due to an unknown county of residence on some records.

MOV - Measure of Variability: Probable range of values resulting from random fluctuations in the number of events. Not calculated when numerator is below 5 or denominator is below 20, or count or rate is suppressed. The MOV is useful for comparing rates to a goal or standard. For example, if the absolute difference between the county rate and the statewide rate is less than the MOV, the county rate is not significantly different from the statewide rate (alpha level = 0.05). When the absolute difference between the county rate and the statewide rate is greater than the MOV, the county rate is significantly different from the statewide rate. MOV should not be used to determine if the rates of two different counties, or the county rates for two different years, are statistically significantly different.

Denom - abbreviated for Denominator.

* - Indicates the county rate is statistically significantly different from the statewide rate.